Farmers Across EU Demonstrate Against Milk Price Cuts

Farmers say they will lose on average £50,000 (€63,000) a year because of a drop of nearly 4p (€.06) a litre in the price they receive from milk processing companies.

11 Jul 2012 --- A sequence of demonstrations is taking place across the EU protesting against the sharp reduction in the price that will be paid by processors to dairy farmers for their product.

Farmers say they will lose on average £50,000 (€63,000) a year because of a drop of nearly 4p (€.06) a litre in the price they receive from milk processing companies.

Yesterday Dairy farmers sprayed thousands of liters of milk outside the European Parliament in Brussels creating a "milk lake" to protest against low prices.

Protesters from around Europe, including Italy, Germany, Ireland and France blocked off a square with tractors and statues of cows brightly painted in the national colours of EU member states.

The "milk lake" was intended to symbolize an oversupply of milk in the European market, with protesters ringing cowbells and denouncing moves to phase out production quotas, resulting in more milk on the market and lower prices.

The NFU has confirmed it will support lawful protests outside major retailers and milk processors if recent milk price cuts are not reinstated by the start of August.

Later today, a coalition of UK farming organizations will host an ‘emergency dairy summit and demonstration’ in London. At least 1,000 dairy farmers are expected to attend the venue at Westminster’s Central (Methodist) Hall.

The British Retail Consortium supports the strike, but says that protests over the future of the UK dairy industry should focus on sectors which aren't playing their part in supporting British farmers.

British Retail Consortium Food Director, Andrew Opie, said: "Supermarkets are the best remunerators in the milk market. Supermarkets only sell British milk but their customers don't need all the milk produced by UK dairy farmers. Only half of the milk British farmers produce ends up as liquid milk in bottles and cartons and only part of that is sold in supermarkets, the rest is sold by convenience stores, door-to-door or used in catering, schools and prisons.

"A number of supermarkets have dedicated milk supply chains which allow them to work closely with specific groups of farmers, guaranteeing how much the farmers get for their milk and helping them invest in the long-term sustainability of their businesses. That matters to retailers who want successful relationships that will provide the milk they and their customers need, not just now, but over the coming decades. But that can't be the answer for every farmer.

"The pressure should be on other big buyers of milk – food manufacturers and the public sector - to show the same strong support for the industry that retailers do. The truth is the farmers in the best position are often those in supermarket supply chains."